Power of Insurgency: Effect on Women and Children

Militancy or insurgency affects all age groups- the old and the young in the same manner. In fact, violence associated with militancy can wreck the young psyche a lot. One can say that the younger generation is more vulnerable to the violence and terrors associated with wars and terrorism than the experienced. In certain parts of the world there are regions which are notorious for insurgency which takes place there. In India, Kashmir- hailed as ‘Paradise on Earth' is one such region where war has been waged throughout history. Most often people speak of the lost beauty of Kashmir and the effects of the war on the people of Kashmir at large. But one tends to overlook the harmful impact of wars on young minds and the women. Paro Anand has given vent to the agony and fright in the minds of the children in the Kashmir valley, especially during the time of the recent Kargil war. The young minds are least bothered about the political and social ideology behind a war or a terrorist attack. This paper is an attempt to investigate Paro Anand's works, coming under the genre of children's fiction, especially her novels No Guns At My Son's Funeral and Weed to analyse the plight of the young generations of Kashmir. It would also explore how the power structures within the family shifts once the man in the family leaves home to join terrorist outfits. It is also an attempt to study about the militant power; how it lures the youth with its ideologies, and the power wielded by the armed forces, and the way in which it affects the common people residing in the valley.